Friends Of The Forest

Even Builders Prove There's No Clear Cut Need To Kill Trees

April 18, 1993|By Linda Mae Carlstone.

When the Wauconda National Bank decided to expand its building a few years ago, there were 12 oak trees standing in its way.

Twelve oaks stood within 3 feet of where the building was to be-a separation so slim it would have spelled tree slaughter in most construction projects. After all, it would take time and money, lots of each, to shape the building around the trees.

And banks may be able to guarantee a mortgage rate, but when it comes to trees, there are no guarantees. Even with extraordinary steps to preserve the oaks, experts gave the trees only a 40 percent to 60 percent chance to survive.

But this was no ordinary project: This one put trees first.

"There comes a time when you decide you cannot always be motivated by money," philosophized executive vice president Reid French as to why his bank was willing to take on this risky investment.

"We decided we had a responsibility to preserve the trees," said Reid, who oversaw the construction at 486 Liberty St. "I thought, let's do something right."

Two of the trees were in the direct path of the building and had to be removed. But with planning and innovation, the remaining 10 trees were left standing when the bulldozers pulled away.

The tale of the bank and its trees is actually part of a nationwide tree love-in. With Illinois celebrating Arbor Day Friday, it's fitting to take a look at how trees that at one time would have been firewood are being saved. With a revived interest in the environment overall, people are appreciating that trees, by just carrying out their everyday business of staying alive, are helping human beings.

"A happy, healthy tree is a better citizen to the world," said Larry Hall, vice president for Hendrickson, the Care of Trees, a firm specializing in tree maintenance for homes, commercial properties and municipalities.

Trees breathe in carbon dioxide to grow and exhale oxygen as a waste product, he said. "It's the perfect symbiotic relationship. They're doing just the opposite of what we're doing," Hall said. Horror stories about carbon dioxide buildup, the ozone hole and rain forest depletion have rallied people around trees, Hall said.

Just 10 years ago, statistics showed that on average a municipality would replace only one tree for every four it removed, said Hall, whose Wheeling-based company serves clients not only in Lake County but in the entire Chicago area. "That has begun to turn around."

"Everyone has different buttons that turn on their concern for trees," said Galen Gates, manager of horticultural collections at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. "Some people are reacting to the environmental movement's `think globally, act locally' slogan," he said. Others have tuned in because of surveys that show landscaping is 25 percent of the value of a home. Also, there is a strong upswing in the number of people gardening as a hobby, he said.

The image of trees has been transformed from too costly to save to too valuable not to save, tree experts noted. Developers have begun to realize that a wooded lot offers a positive marketing feature. "They can charge more for homes with trees around them," said Chuck Stewart, president of Urban Forest Management, a Fox River Grove firm that acts as a consultant regarding trees.

Architects are more receptive than before to changes in floor plans to accommodate trees, said Stewart, who conducts "Building with Trees" workshops for the National Arbor Day Foundation. "They realize it might cost $10,000 to flip (reverse plans for) the house, but the tree is worth $20,000 and can't be replaced," he said.

The Wauconda National Bank project is an example of a building designed around trees. In two places, the walls acutally surround the trees, and the trees poke up through the bank's roof. Interior glass walls provide a view of the trees but prevent the occupants from actually touching them. A special drainage system directs water falling onto the roof through an underground route to the trees' roots.

The project also has a foundation that props the building up on 17 cylinders. The cylinders were sunk 8 feet into the soil with bell-shaped wire cages built at their bases that fan out underneath the roots (picture a support network shaped like 17 huge bathroom plungers). The supports were then filled with concrete. This design allows the concrete to narrow as it passes the tree roots and then spread at a deeper level to provide support.

The bank's tree heroics added about $50,000 to $75,000 to its expansion, a tab run up for arborist fees and the cost to design and build the construction alternatives.

The money was well spent, bank officials believe. In addition to a spectacular view, the bank scored a priceless public relations coup, French said. "The community's acceptance was overwhelming. We couldn't have spent the amount in marketing dollars that it would take to get that kind of respsonse from people."